Point of View Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Activism With a Little Kink and Human Sexuality Thrown In

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Off Topic - Geek Cred

Editor's Note: Most of the entries here deal with the LGBT community and the issues that affect us as a group. However, from time to time Adam and I will want to share things from our personal lives. There are a lot of communities in which people seem to need to possess a certain amount of cred to be considered a real_______. There are street gangs, there is sports fandom, and more and more, we're seeing that it is present in certain circles of nerdiness, particularly when a female wanders into the fold. Nerds hate the "fake" nerd girl. Why?This article would have you think there is some complicated gender fuckery at play. Obviously that's going to be true on some level anytime you throw men and women together, but I don't think it's the driving factor here. I think it is much more simple.Many nerds (choosing this word for the sake of picking one) were bullied and ridiculed throughout their adolescence for their nerdiness, something that is a key part of their identity. They don't like people (many of which happen to be women) stealing their label without going through any of the suffering. To "real" nerds, non-nerds, new nerds, or superficial nerds (whatever you want to call them) parading around in their "nerdy" things is a lot like the Super Bowl winner's backup punter trash talking the loser's quarterback.It's not right obviously, "real" nerds lashing out at "fake" nerds is pretty much just a role reversal of the bullying they grew up with, but I can at least understand their frustrations.